posted 4/9/2010 11:15:15 PM I'm the granddaughter of Alex Shepovalof from Billings, MT. My family is trying to gather any information on his time with the Army. We have very little information on what he did or who his friends were. He rarely spoke about the war. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

The following books can be read on this website. Look to the left and click on BOOKS AND WRITTEN EXPERIENCES. At the top of the list, there are several general histories. Next: “17th Armored Infantry Battalion HistoricalInformation” by George Hatt. Next: “Journal of Operations of the 17th AIB.”Next: “Mount Up: The History of Company C.” Next: “23 Long Days and Nights” by Warren Maue of A-17. Next: “War: 12th Armored Division in World War 2” by Herman Petross also of A-17. Also read the last item: “World War 2 Magazine.” This contains an article called “Nightmare in Herrlisheim.” There may be other items of interest on this list.

Again, look to the left and click on ORAL HISTORY VIDEOS. To save time, click at the top of the column: BATTALION. This will sort all the videos according to Battalion. When this is done, you will find 37 Oral Histories, each lasting an average of perhaps one hour! This is one week’s work! The other item on the left column that might be helpful is labeled VIDEOS.

Finally, I have found a book: Stephen G. Fritz (2004). Endkampf: Soldiers, Civilians and the Death of the Third Reich. University of Kentucky Press. This should be in major libraries. Look in the index under “United States Army” and you will find many pages on the combat history of the 17th Armored Inf. Batt. As well as much information on other units.

Once you have read enough to ask questions, you might want to contact George Hatt. He can be reached through Bill Funke: